In Chess Strategy for Club Players you will learn the basic elements of positional understanding, including pawn structures, piece placement, lead in development, open files, weaknesses, space advantage and king safety. You will master the art of converting a temporary plus into other, more permanent advantages. The author also explains what to do when, in a given position, the basic principles seem to point in different directions.

CLEARANCE - Sacrifice and Initiative in Chess Seize the Moment to Get the Advantage

Catalog Code: B0133NIC

In this book Ivan Sokolov presents a set of practical tools that will help you to master the art of sacrifice. By concentrating on the aim you are trying to achieve, rather than on the opening you are playing or the piece you might be going to sack, he teaches you how to come to a reasonable risk assessment and how to trust your intuition. There is a separate part on seizing the initiative without actually giving up material. Ivan Sokolov has written an entertaining and instructive guide, packed with useful advice and lots of practical examples.

CLEARANCE - Excelling at Combinational Play Learn to Identify and Exploit Tactical Chances

Catalog Code: B0120EM

Excelling at Combinational Play: Learn to Identify and Exploit Tactical Chances by Jacob Aagaard, 239pp. (Everyman 2004) Being able to solve puzzles and combinations is one of the principal components of a successful chess player. But how can one improve on such an important skill? How can one acquire combinational vision? The answer lies within the pages of this book! Experienced chess writer Jacob Aagaard explains how tactical intuition and ability develops and uses pattern recognition to improve the reader's tactical ammunition. Is also no secret that the continued practice of puzzles and combinations helps to sharpen the chess brain, and here there is a wealth of exercises and problems to solve accompanied by the full solutions and explanations.

Rubinstein was an exceptionally talented player whose legacy includes many truly brilliant games. He helped to develop several chess openings and is widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest endgame players of all time. In this book, Grandmaster Zenón Franco selects and examines his favorite Rubinstein games, and demonstrates how we can all learn and improve our chess by studying Rubinstein's masterpieces

DON'T MESS WITH KARJAKIN!
2016 European champion GM Ernesto Inakiev not only answers the question "What has been demonstrated by Karjakin that could not have been done by others?" but also reveals Sergey's secret weapons at the Moscow Candidates’ tournament.
WINNING THE EUROPEAN IN THE OUTSIDE LANE!
GM Sarunas Sulskis dissects two key games that cleared the path to victory for Ernesto Inarkiev and lays bare the tension, strategy, pre-game preparations, stamina, determination and all the other elements essential for modern combative chess where the stakes are high. In addition, Sulskis annotates a fascinating game by the title defender, Evgeny Najer.

Tigran Petrosian was a World Chess Champion and a true legend of the game. He was nicknamed ''Iron Tigran'' because of his incredible defensive skills that made him a formidable opponent who was virtually impossible to defeat. Petrosian was the master of restraint, prophylaxis and prevention. He could spot and defuse threats well before they were created, suck the life out an opponent's position and then seize a vice-like grip on the game. In this book, International Master Thomas Engqvist selects and examines his favourite Petrosian games, and shows us how we can all learn and improve our chess by studying Petrosian's masterpieces.

Life of a King is the unlikely true story of Eugene Brown and his one-man mission to give inner-city kids of Washington D.C. something he never had - a future. He discovered a multitude of life lessons through the game of chess during his 18-year incarceration for bank robbery. After his release and reentry into the workforce, Eugene developed and founded the Big Chair Chess Club to get kids off the streets and working towards lives they never believed they were capable of due to circumstances. From his daring introductory chess lessons to group of unruly high school students in detention to the development of the Club and the teens' first local chess competitions, this movie reveals his difficult, inspirational journey and how he changed the lives of a group of teens with no endgame.

Want to improve at chess? Then you'll need to improve your understanding of chess strategy. You probably knew that already - but how to begin to study such a vast and seemingly complex subject? International Master Adam Hunt is a full-time chess teacher and is thus very familiar with this problem. His solution is to present an accessible and easy-to-read guide for club players and juniors. Hunt studies all the key components of chess strategy, including development, king safety, attack and defence, initiative, pawn play and much more. He examines not only grandmaster games but also those played by students, demonstrates model strategic play, identifies typical mistakes and explains how to avoid them. Move by Move provides an ideal platform to study chess

In chess, like in real life, one frequently faces temptations: to grab a pawn, to occupy an open file, to start a kingside attack and so on. There is nothing fundamentally wrong with all these ideas, but before undertaking such concrete actions, one should be sure the position is ripe for it. The second DVD deals with the middlegame positions where static factors play a determining part, permanently taking into account the inseparable dynamic and tactical elements. The videos are interactive, featuring training questions in the critical moments. You can further sharpen your skills with the included database, which contains games covering themes that correspond to the ideas presented on the DVD.

How should systematic chess coaching be structured so that students are able to use their freshly acquired knowledge in their own games? Author Stefan Becker came to an astonishingly simple answer. The solution to every chess problem lies on the board.

Bryan takes us through various strategies for using Pawns in your game. Illustrated with real games the lectures cover topes of : Pawns In the attack, Petrosian's Pawn Artistry, Doubled Pawns and Weak Squares, Break the Rules Sometimes, Breaking Through the Pawn Chain.

In this valuable and entertaining book, Angus Dunnington arms the reader with all the necessary skills to be able to cope with vicious assaults on his or her king. Using illustrative games, Dunnington investigates in depth defensive ideas such as blockading, giving up material and the timely launch of counterattacks. Read this book and defend with confidence!

To win games against strong players you need an extra set of skills to the usual attacking ideas. There are many careful players who will close the position or passively defend until you try something too optimistic, giving away material or making a concession which eventually allows them to win. Incredibly frustrating! To beat these guys you need to master the art of positional chess and that is exactly what GM Damian Lemos helps you achieve in “Positional Mastery”. By studying the textbook examples in this Course you will learn how to constantly ask questions of your opponent, forcing them to solve subtle problems until they make a mistake and you win.

The First volume of Ludek Pachman's great trilogy Complete Chess Strategy which first appeared in Czechoslovak and German. Planning the Pieces deals with the long term planning, handling and positioning of the individual chess pieces.

Dynamic Chess Strategy - 2016 Edition! New Edition of a Modern Classic

Catalog Code: B0167NIC

Grandmaster Mihai Suba, a former Romanian champion and Senior World Chess Champion, has updated his groundbreaking work and extended it with even more entertaining and witty lessons. The result is a thought-provoking and yet practical guide on chess strategy!

There's no escaping the fact: if you want to win chess games, you have to attack at some point. Many players are happy solving combinations in winning positions, when the hard work is already done, but the key to a successful attack undoubtedly comes much earlier. No-one can attack effectively if they haven't prepared properly, and yet planning in chess can be a difficult technique to master, even for experienced players.

GM Jesse Kraai explains how to use the old Russian rule set to evaluate Tempo in chess. What is Tempi or Tempo in Chess? “The gaining or losing of time and effectiveness relative to one's continued mobility or developing position, especially with respect to the number of moves required to gain an objective: Black gained a tempo”.

Nimzowitsch will always be remembered as the founder of the Hypermodern movement and the author of the undisputed classics My System and Chess Praxis. In his first book, he expounded his theories of prophylaxis, blockades and much more, while providing ground-breaking insights in pawn-structures. In the sequel Nimzowitsch demonstrated how he had successfully tested his theories in his games.

In ''Using the Initiative'', Grandmaster Simon Williams explains the ideas behind his play in two of his games where the correct use of the initiative has proved critical. Follow Simon as he provides his audience with an essential insight into the working thought processes of a Grandmaster – a must for any chess enthusiast looking to improve!

International Master Bryan Smith explains Nimzo Indian Defense strategies with real games.
This hypermodern opening was developed by Grandmaster Aron Nimzowitsch who introduced it to master-level chess in the early 20th century. Unlike most Indian openings the NimzoIndian does not involve an immediate fianchetto, although Black often follows up with ...b6 and ...Bb7. By pinning White's knight Black prevents the threatened 4.e4 and seeks to inflict doubled pawns on White. White will attempt to create a pawn centre and develop his pieces to prepare for an assault on the Black position.

After you have learned the rules of chess and developed some tactical abilities, how do you go from there? You are now ready to tackle basic issues of strategy, but what is the best way to improve and win more games?

In Strategic Play Jacob Aagaard digs deep into the most complex area of chess thinking. The games and exercises in this book transcend regular chess skills, such as pattern recognition, calculation and positional analysis. Building on the two previous books in the Grandmaster Preparation series, this book challenges the reader to explore the complexities of chess, offering clarity and understanding through Aagaard’s straightforward approach.

In the battle of chess ideas, the publication in 1991 of Dynamic Chess Strategy was a defining moment. Before Mihai Suba's exceptional book, chess writers had neglected one of the most important factors of a chess position: its dynamic potential. Suba demonstrated that the traditional concept of improving the position was often static and irrelevant, and that classical strategy, if applied dogmatically, can prevent you from finding the right plan and its subsequent moves.

Do you instinctively know what to do in every type of chess position or are you often uncertain about how to proceed? Wouldn't it be really useful to know the best chess strategies and to recognise when they should be used? In this book Sam Collins examines key games from both the classical and modern eras. He analyses the major strategic ideas that have stood the test of time and notes their considerable influence on his own games.

It is the imbalances in chess that make for really exciting games. Whether it be exchanging a knight for 2 pawns or your Queen for 3 minor pieces, you will be reaching far more positions with winning chances than players who miss these opportunities. Understanding how to change the nature of the game with piece imbalances shows real chess insight and creativity and this 3 ½ hour DVD from FM Alisa Melekhina is a comprehensive course on how to do just that.

Sarkhan Guliev presents a wide range of strategic manoeuvres that have been repeatedly employed by great chess players. He shows how masters generate ideas from the games of other masters: positional sacrifices, amazing counterplay concepts, unorthodox exchanges, winning with h2-h4, overcoming a blockade, the advantages of double pawns, the e5 pawn wedge, the uses of the queen-bishop battery, and much more.

GM Jesse Kraai currently resides in Berkeley, California. His most notable chess achievements are winning the Denker Tournament of High School Champions in 1989 and 1990, and competing in the U.S. Championship from 2002-2006.

Manuevering - The Art of Piece Play Finding the Best Squares for Your Pieces

Catalog Code: B0095RE

In this book, premier chess instructor and trainer Mark Dvoretsky examines one of the most important aspects of positional skill, namely the art of playing with pieces, of maneuvering and finding the best squares for your pieces.

Novice players and amateurs of intermediate strength will benefit from the explanations of ideas and tips for practical play, all presented in an easy, conversational style. More experienced competitors will appreciate this book as a game collection featuring masterpieces of enterprising play – some of them never before published.

Understanding how to use pawns and how to handle different pawn structures are important topics for young or improving players to consider. On this new ChessBase DVD, IM and FIDE Senior Trainer Andrew Martin investigates the notion that ‘pawns are the soul of chess’ and tries to explain exactly what this means. The effective use of pawns in the opening leads to the correct development of the pieces and a good game springs naturally from there. The pawn structure must be considered throughout the game and this is something that Martin also touches upon. The viewer will be treated to a tour of excellent games, both old and new, many from the period 2012-2014, which highlight key ideas about the correct use of pawns and from which one cannot fail to improve one’s technique. Thus this DVD is ideal for players below 1800 or indeed ambitious players of any level.